Doctors should consider alternatives to the body mass index (BMI) when determining a healthy body weight because of the metric’s "historical harm" and "use for racist exclusion," the American Medical Association announced last week.
"BMI is based primarily on data collected from previous generations of non-Hispanic white populations," an AMA press release said.
BMI is calculated by dividing a person’s weight by the square of their height, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The AMA now recommends BMI be used "in conjunction with other valid measures of risk" because of "significant limitations associated with the widespread use of BMI in clinical settings."
The move comes as the group continues to adopt initiatives and policies to promote "diversity, equity, and inclusion." The AMA broadened its definition of gender in 2017 to acknowledge "individuals' gender and sexual identities do not always fit neatly into binary paradigms." In 2021, the group adopted new policies "aimed at improving the diversity of the physician workforce" and derided "individualism and meritocracy."
Diversity initiatives aside, some doctors support accounting for more factors in addition to BMI.
"The BMI is just a very poor measure of general health," said Dr. Scott Hagan, University of Washington assistant professor of medicine, according to the New York Times. "Someone with an elevated BMI may be perfectly healthy."